Huntsbury Preschool Inc

Education institution number:
70373
Service type:
Education and Care Service
Definition:
Not Applicable
Total roll:
26
Address:

30H Huntsbury Avenue, Huntsbury, Christchurch

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Huntsbury Preschool Inc

1 ERO’s Judgements

Akarangi | Quality Evaluation evaluates the extent to which this early childhood service has the learning and organisational conditions to support equitable and excellent outcomes for all learners. Te Ara Poutama- indicators of quality for early childhood education: what matters most are the basis for making judgements about the effectiveness of the service in achieving equity and excellence for all learners. The Akarangi Quality Evaluation Judgement Rubric derived from the indicators, is used to inform the ERO’s judgements about this service’s performance in promoting equity and excellence.  

ERO’s judgements for Huntsbury Preschool Inc are as follows:

Outcome Indicators

ERO’s judgement

What the service knows about outcomes for learners

Whakatō Emerging

Ngā Akatoro Domains

ERO’s judgement

He Whāriki Motuhake

The learner and their learning

Whāngai Establishing

Whakangungu Ngaio

Collaborative professional learning builds knowledge and capability

Whāngai Establishing

Ngā Aronga Whai Hua

Evaluation for improvement

Whakatō Emerging

Kaihautū

Leaders foster collaboration and improvement

Whakatō Emerging

Te Whakaruruhau

Stewardship through effective governance and management

Whakatō Emerging

2 Context of the Service

Huntsbury Preschool Inc is governed and managed by a board of volunteer parents and a small team of qualified teachers. The service provides education and care to children from two years to school age. Since the June 2016 ERO review, a new centre manager has been appointed from within the teaching team. The service has been through significant change since the previous ERO review.

3 Summary of findings

Kaiako establish and maintain responsive, respectful relationships and learning partnerships with children, parents and whānau. They purposefully enable children to participate fully in the curriculum provided. Kaiako are increasingly integrating te reo and tikanga Māori into the daily programme. Children experience an environment where their cultures and languages are recognised and valued.

Leaders and kaiako intentionally seek the views and aspirations of parents to inform children’s individual learning. They must now establish clear expectations for meaningful and intentional assessment, planning and evaluation practices. These should help to inform and support the implementation of a localised curriculum that promotes positive outcomes for children’s learning.

Board members, leaders and teachers are working positively together to update policies and to improve the effectiveness of systems across the service. Relevant annual and strategic plans guide the service’s operations and priorities.

The board, leaders and teachers have identified that they need to work collaboratively to further develop the conditions to establish and use internal evaluation for improvement. They recognise the importance of using external expertise to improve key areas of the service’s operations, including learning and teaching. While this work is in the early stages of development and implementation, the service is continuing to engage in ongoing learning to build shared understandings and collective capacity.

4 Improvement actions

Huntsbury Preschool Inc will include the following actions in its Quality Improvement Planning:

  • consistently use the learning outcomes from Te Whāriki -the early childhood curriculum, to more clearly show how teachers intentionally assess and plan for children’s learning and evaluate the effectiveness of teaching
  • build shared understandings of the purpose and processes of internal evaluation to examine the effectiveness of improvements
  • develop effective, sustainable systems and processes and use internal evaluation to know how well the preschool is functioning in relation to curriculum, health and safety and human resources.
  • continue to engage in ongoing learning to develop leadership capacity and capability to establish the conditions for collaborative improvement.

5 Management Assurance on Legal Requirements

Before the review, the staff and management of Huntsbury Preschool Inc completed an ERO Centre Assurance Statement and Self-Audit Checklist. In these documents they attested that they have taken all reasonable steps to meet their legal obligations related to:

  • curriculum
  • premises and facilities
  • health and safety practices
  • governance, management and administration.

During the review, ERO looked at the service’s systems for managing the following areas that have a potentially high impact on children's wellbeing:

  • emotional safety (including positive guidance and child protection)
  • physical safety (including supervision; sleep procedures; accidents; medication; hygiene; excursion policies and procedures)
  • suitable staffing (including qualification levels; police vetting; teacher registration; ratios)
  • evacuation procedures and practices for fire and earthquake.

All early childhood services are required to promote children's health and safety and to regularly review their compliance with legal requirements.

Dr Lesley Patterson
Director Review and Improvement Services (Southern)
Southern Region | Te Tai Tini

16 March 2021 

6 About the Early Childhood Service

Early Childhood Service Name Huntsbury Preschool Inc
Profile Number 70373
Location Christchurch

Service type

Education and care service

Number licensed for

30 children, two years and over.

Percentage of qualified teachers

80%+

Service roll

28

Ethnic composition

Māori 6, NZ European/Pākehā 19, Other ethnicities 3.

Review team on site

October 2020

Date of this report

16 March 2021

Most recent ERO report(s)

Education Review, June 2016; Education Review, February 2013.

Huntsbury Preschool Inc - 27/06/2016

1 Evaluation of Huntsbury Preschool Inc

How well placed is Huntsbury Preschool Inc to promote positive learning outcomes for children?

Not well placed

Requires further development

Well placed

Very well placed

ERO's findings that support this overall judgement are summarised below.

Background

Huntsbury Preschool is a community-led early childhood service which provides education and care for children over two years to six years. It is located within the Huntsbury Community Centre. The teachers set up the learning environment on a daily basis.

The outdoor area provides children with a wide range of learning experiences, including opportunities to explore, interact with, and discover the natural world and learn about caring for the environment.

The preschool is well governed and managed by a board of volunteer parents and a long-serving, dedicated team of registered teachers.

The preschool has established close links with a local community cluster of schools. This has supported children's transition to local schools and provided professional development opportunities for teachers.

Since the 2013 ERO review, the leadership of the preschool has changed, the hours have been extended and a fourth teacher has been employed. The recommendations from the last report have been well met. (See findings below)

The Review Findings

Children are actively engaged in meaningful learning experiences that promote and support ongoing learning. The centre programme has a wide range of activities that includes an itinerant music specialist and excursions into the local community.

Teaching practices and engaging activities extend children's interests. Learning experiences for children link closely with the preschool's values, philosophy, vision and Māori values. Teachers provide children with challenge, interest and stimulation that supports thinking and problem-solving skills.

Children and parents actively lead and contribute to the curriculum. Children's contributions, ideas and interests are encouraged, valued and shared. Parent feedback is enthusiastic, positive and well used.

Children's learning is well planned for and well informed by assessment. Teachers use very good systems to analyse children's learning and progress. Priorities for children's learning are effectively shared with the teaching team and reflected in children's learning stories.

Teachers know children and their families well. There are positive and collaborative relationships at all levels. Teachers and parents work together and seek advice from professional agencies to support individual children as a need presents.

Children also benefit from:

  • well-managed transitions into and out of the preschool

  • the well-integrated bicultural programme (including tikanga and te reo Māori) where concepts valued by Māori are shared and well understood

  • a natural outdoor learning area, equipment and resources that encourage physical activities, and creative play.

The preschool is well governed, managed and led. Governance board members, management team, teachers and parents are strongly committed, and have high expectations for teaching and learning. They work collaboratively to ensure that systems for smooth day-to-day running of the preschool are in place. A very effective strategic plan has been implemented which identifies key priorities and guides future developments.

A culture of ongoing reflection, self review and a new appraisal system for teachers have impacted on ongoing improved outcomes for children.

Key Next Steps

The licensee and head teacher have identified, and ERO agrees, that the preschool is in a stage of embedding and sustaining new practices. These include te reo and tikanga Māori; planning and assessment changes; appraisal and the refinement of the self-review process.

Management Assurance on Legal Requirements

Before the review, the staff and management of Huntsbury Preschool Inc completed an ERO Centre Assurance Statement and Self-Audit Checklist. In these documents they attested that they have taken all reasonable steps to meet their legal obligations related to:

  • curriculum

  • premises and facilities

  • health and safety practices

  • governance, management and administration.

During the review, ERO looked at the service’s systems for managing the following areas that have a potentially high impact on children's wellbeing:

  • emotional safety (including positive guidance and child protection)

  • physical safety (including supervision; sleep procedures; accidents; medication; hygiene; excursion policies and procedures)

  • suitable staffing (including qualification levels; police vetting; teacher registration; ratios)

  • evacuation procedures and practices for fire and earthquake.

All early childhood services are required to promote children's health and safety and to regularly review their compliance with legal requirements.

Next ERO Review

When is ERO likely to review the service again?

The next ERO review of Huntsbury Preschool Inc will be in four years.

Lesley Patterson

Deputy Chief Review Officer Southern

27 June 2016

The Purpose of ERO Reports

The Education Review Office (ERO) is the government department that, as part of its work, reviews early childhood services throughout Aotearoa New Zealand. ERO’s reports provide information for parents and communities about each service’s strengths and next steps for development. ERO’s bicultural evaluation framework Ngā Pou Here is described in SECTION 3 of this report. Early childhood services are partners in the review process and are expected to make use of the review findings to enhance children's wellbeing and learning.

2 Information about the Early Childhood Service

Location

Christchurch

Ministry of Education profile number

70373

Licence type

Education & Care Service

Licensed under

Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008

Number licensed for

30 children, two years of age and over

Service roll

37

Gender composition

Boys 23; Girls 14

Ethnic composition

Māori

Pākehā

Other ethnicities

3

28

6

Percentage of qualified teachers 0-49% 50-79% 80%+Based on funding rates

80% +

Reported ratios of staff to children

Over 2

1:8

Better than minimum requirements

Review team on site

May 2016

Date of this report

27 June 2016

Most recent ERO reports

 

Education Review

May 2013

Education Review

June 2013

Education Review

October 2003

3 General Information about Early Childhood Reviews

ERO’s Evaluation Framework

ERO’s overarching question for an early childhood education review is ‘How well placed is this service to promote positive learning outcomes for children?’ ERO focuses on the following factors as described in the bicultural framework Ngā Pou Here:

Pou Whakahaere – how the service determines its vision, philosophy and direction to ensure positive outcomes for children

Pou Ārahi – how leadership is enacted to enhance positive outcomes for children

Mātauranga – whose knowledge is valued and how the curriculum is designed to achieve positive outcomes for children

Tikanga whakaako – how approaches to teaching and learning respond to diversity and support positive outcomes for children.

Within these areas ERO considers the effectiveness of arotake – self review and of whanaungatanga – partnerships with parents and whānau.

ERO evaluates how well placed a service is to sustain good practice and make ongoing improvements for the benefit of all children at the service.

A focus for the government is that all children, especially priority learners, have an opportunity to benefit from quality early childhood education. ERO will report on how well each service promotes positive outcomes for all children, with a focus on children who are Māori, Pacific, have diverse needs, and are up to the age of two.

For more information about the framework and Ngā Pou Here refer to ERO’s Approach to Review in Early Childhood Services.

ERO’s Overall Judgement and Next Review

The overall judgement that ERO makes and the timing of the next review will depend on how well placed a service is to promote positive learning outcomes for children. The categories are:

  • Very well placed – The next ERO review in four years
  • Well placed – The next ERO review in three years
  • Requires further development – The next ERO review within two years
  • Not well placed - The next ERO review in consultation with the Ministry of Education

ERO has developed criteria for each category. These are available on ERO’s website.

Review Coverage

ERO reviews are tailored to each service’s context and performance, within the overarching review framework. The aim is to provide information on aspects that are central to positive outcomes for children and useful to the service.